Online registration begins at 9 a.m. March 11 for 2 of the most popular Parks & Recreation Department summer programs: Camp Compo and RECing Crew.
Registration opens the next day (March 12, 9 a.m.) for all other spring and summer offerings.
Parks & Rec officials urge residents to log in now to their online accounts, to verify family information.
- Log in and select “Manage Family Member” (bottom right).
- Click the first name in the column under “My Family Members” to check key details.
- Verify date of birth and ensure your child’s grade (as of September 2025) is correct.
- Click “Save” at the bottom.
- Go to the “Contact Information” tab and review/update your contact details. Click “Save” again.
- Repeat for each family member in your profile.
Address Change? Email us at recreation@westportct.gov with updated information.
Login issue? Don’t create a new profile. Email recreation@westportct.gov, or call 203-341-5152.
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Coleytown Middle School theater students got a special treat Wednesday.
Westport Country Playhouse technical director Jason Thompson led a tour of the theater, for Coleytown Company’s tech crew.
It was not a random invitation. Thompson is working with the students to build the set for “Matilda,” the CMS show that runs April 4-6.
The visit was coordinated by Ben Frimmer. He wears 3 hats: theater arts educator for Westport Public Schools, director of Coleytown Company, and Playhouse trustee.
“I want to make Westport students more aware of the only professional theatre in Westport,” he says.
“Coleytown has one of the strongest middle school tech programs in the country. But I think it’s critical we expand students’ knowledge past what we do at school. This trip allowed them to experience the world of professional technical theatre.”
Coleytown Company’s tech crew toured the historic Playhouse, visited the scene shop, and watched set building underway on stage for the opening next week of “Native Gardens.”
Jason Thompson, Playhouse technical director (right) and Matthew Melchiorre, Playhouse director of production (left), explain set construction of “Native Gardens” to Coleytown Company’s tech crew.
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Speaking of the Playhouse: They’ve added 2 new events to their April calendar.
“Me, Myself, and Barbra” is a tribute to Ms. Streisand, by Jenna Pastuszek. She was inspired by a meeting with the singing star, who inspired her to embrace her inner Barbra.
The show is April 24 — Streisand’s birthday. Tickets are $45 and $40; pre-show party and show tickets are $55 and $50. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
“2 Motherpluckers” is a musical, featuring a pair of guitar-playing, songwriting local moms — Julie Foldesi and Stacie Morgain Lewis — on a hilarious journey through the bumps of motherhood.
Broadway star/Westport resident compares it to “the Indigo Girls meet Kristen Wiig.”
The Lucille Lortel White Barn Center show is April 29 (7 p.m.). All tickets are $20. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
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Three new art exhibits are on display at The Westport Library. “Good Bones: 60 Years of Multi-Dimensional Commentary” by Nina Bentley, “City Sights” by Susan Fehlinger, and “Art and Jazz” by Jean Krasno run through March 25.
Bentley’s art is often conceptual in nature, offering poignant commentary on a wide array of social issues. “Good Bones” is a retrospective of decades of her work, composed of sculpture, prints, pen and ink, and multimedia assemblages.
Fehlinger worked for 35 years as a television producer in New York City. Yearning to paint, she left her job in 2003 and embarked on a career as an artist.
Her style emphasizes texture, color, and light. Her compositions play with scale, placement, and negative and positive spaces.
Krasno is inspired by the magic of jazz music, conveyed through the rich voices, poetic lyrics and rhythmic performances of artists like Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington.
“Art and Jazz” creates a sensory experience that combines her art with the music that sparked its creation, incorporating a listening component with QR codes that link to jazz songs.
Art, by Nina Bentley
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The Westport Board of Education Policy Committee’s next meeting is February 27 (11 a.m., Town Hall Room 309).
Discussion items include:
- Second reading of possible revisions to the suicide prevention and intervention policy.
- First reading of possible revisions to existing policies involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, non-discrimination, and sex-based discrimination and harassment.
- First reading of a possiible new policy on transportation.
- Discussion of a policy on survey of students/student privacy.
Meanwhile, one of the agenda items for the Planning & Zoning Commission’s February 24 meeting (6 p.m., remote; click here for the link) is a special permit request by Fairfield County Hunt Club.
They’re applying to build an indoor racquet sport facility, for club members and guests.
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Congratulations to 14 Staples High School musicians. They auditioned successfully for the Connecticut Music Educators Associaton All-State Festival.
Their names and talents are below:
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A late model Audi was stolen around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, from the parking lot at Bridge Square.
The thief opened the door, and drove off. It appears the keys might have been left in the car.
The epidemic of car thefts continues in Westport. Once again, “06880” reminds residents to lock your cars — always. Never leave your keys in your cars. Always be aware of your surroundings. And if you have a garage: Use it! (Hat tip: Ben Meyer)
Don’t be a victim!
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Many Westporters (judging by comments on, and to, “06880”) don’t like dogs on the Compo Beach boardwalk.
But many others (using the same unscientific method) don’t like signs warning them to keep away.
They’re too large and intrusive, readers say.
One resident has another point of view. “At least they’re the right height for dogs to read,” he says.
(Photo/DinkinESH Fotografix)
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Eve Potts spotted this at the Regents Park condos, after our most recent storm. It’s today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature. She calls it “Nature’s Sculpture.”
(Photo/Eve Potts)
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And finally … Happy Valentine’s Day, to all who celebrate it.
There are squintillions of songs to choose from. These 3 seem to cover it well:
(Sure, you can show your love for “06880” with flowers or chocolate. But we prefer that you click here, and make a tax-deductible contribution. Hey, we’re honest! Thank you all …)
The incident in question only involved yelling after I was hit in the face during a team kickball game. After being hit in the face, the game concluded at which point [the player] mocked and antagonized me.
Dan Woog laid out the problem well: a broken system where high school coaches can be pressured to make coaching decisions, and even forced out of a job, by a small group of unhappy parents. A broken system where a long-tenured and highly successful coach beloved by most of his or her players can lose his or her job based on a single amorphous allegation of “lapse in judgment,” despite never having been trained or given constructive feedback on the issue at hand, and despite there being no clear policy in place that the coach was supposed to have followed.
Right now, the way we treat long-tenured and dedicated coaches is teaching our kids exactly the wrong lessons: that if a parent can reframe disappointment in coaching decisions as a coach having been “vindictive” (an argument any parent can always try to make), that’s the ticket to getting rid of a coach.
That led to a discussion of how much information board members and the public know about any particular non-renewal decision, then back to a debate about whether the Board of Education should weigh the views of parents and athletes in coaches’ non-renewal decisions.
